Lodger jailed for murdering his landlord

A Worthing tenant has been found guilty of murdering his landlord, and faces 19 years in prison

A lodger who lived with his Worthing landlord and killed him in August this year has been jailed for life.

Police were called to the house in August 2016, when concerned neighbours reported being able to see the victim lying motionless in the home. Once officers had broken down the door they found landlord David Bond’s body which had been stabbed 29 times.

His tenant, Alan Knight disappeared from the scene, prompting a nationwide manhunt - subsequently handing himself in nearly 250 miles away at a police station in Lancashire.

He confessed to police that whilst relations between the two had not been friendly for some time, the tipping point was a note that Bond left by knight’s bedroom door asking him to clean the microwave. “I just lost my rag and I killed him”, Knight told police.

Knight admitted to sending a message to his then-girlfriend admitting to the murder, and sending her Whatsapp images of Mr Bond’s bloodstained body once he had committed the horrific act.

He appeared in front of Hove Crown Court, where he pleaded guilty to murder. He must serve a minimum of 18 days and 238 days before he is eligible for parole.

The pair met through working together in the construction industry, and Knight had previously rented a property from Bond. The house-share arrangement had only been in place for about six months when Knight committed his act of horrendous violence.

I am relieved Knight pleaded guilty to his crime preventing David’s family having to endure the trial, I hope they can now begin to process what happened to him and look to the future. This was a cold and calculated crime which Knight had thought about carrying out and which he executed with absolute clarity. Knight knew exactly what he was doing and confessed he made a conscious effort to evade police in the days after murdering David. Knight confessed they fell out over the cleanliness of the house and the tipping point was the microwave. His reaction was extreme for something, which in reality, was very small. The level of violence was horrendous as Knight repeatedly stabbed David 29 times.